Ashfur: StarClan or Dark Forest? by Ravenshade

Ravenshade debates whether Ashfur should’ve gone to the Dark Forest or not.

Artwork by Fox Desert

Hi guys! I’m Ravenshade here with a little blog about my opinions on Ashfur. Now, many people have debated on whether he should’ve gone to StarClan or the Dark Forest. I believe he belongs in StarClan.
At first, I must admit that I was a little skeptical. Ashfur in StarClan? No way! But then as I thought about it, I realized he belonged there more than some cats who were put there.
OK, let’s see what Ashfur did wrong: he attempted to help Hawkfrost kill Firestar before threatening to kill Squirrelflight’s kits much later. Which he didn’t end up actually doing after finding out they’re actually Leafpool’s.He then threatens to tell all the Clans the secret of the three, but dies first. He is seen glaring at Jayfeather in StarClan.
Of course these things were bad, but he didn’t succeed, and the guides point out that he may have even not told the Clans if given the chance, and that he’d been killed while contemplating.
Now I will point out what some other cats did that were bad. These cats ALSO went to StarClan. As I do this: remember that Ashfur did what he did out of heartbreak.
Mudclaw: Mudclaw tried to kill Onestar because he thought it was unfair that Tallstar chose him to lead over Mudclaw. He didn’t respect Tallstar’s choice, and attempted to REALLY murder a Clanmate at the expense of other Clanmates, putting the whole Clan in danger. StarClan themselves supposedly killed him. Yet somehow he ended up in StarClan. Some may point out that he was trying to follow the Warrior code, saying that Onestar’s leadership didn’t follow it, due to the lack of a ceremony. However, the code states that leader’s word is law, and there’s nothing to say that a “proper” ceremony is needed for a cat to become deputy. The only rules are that a deputy must be replaced by another before moonhigh, and must have trained at least one apprentice. Therefore, there was no need for Mudclaw to kill cats like that. He was simply too ambitious.

Blackstar: Despite the fact that he died a good leader, he did some questionable things, including killing Stonefur. He redeemed himself, though, so I actually agree with him being in StarClan. This is an example, though, of a cat who did things as bad as Ashfur and got into StarClan as well.

Skystar: Yes, yes, he was the first leader of SkyClan, so y’all must be confused. But he did many things that were terrible. He started creating borders, which killed many cats and broke friendships. He then rejected his Clan and tried to kill his old friends and one point. However, he apologizes and redeems himself. But this is the thing that gets me: He caused the death of SkyClan’s first medicine cat for a greedy reason. To be honest, I’m not too sure he could’ve gone to the Dark Forest, but StarClan should’ve lectured him or something. I really don’t know. But killing your own medicine cat is a big no-no in my opinion.

Anyway, that’s all I have. I think that Ashfur should’ve gone to StarClan after all. Who knows? Maybe he redeemed himself during the Great Battle! If I had to guess, though, I’d say he had psychological trauma from all the stuff that happened in his lifetime. After all, his mother died cruelly, and Tigerstar was at fault. Perhaps he even was a bit put off by Brambleclaw after that. Of course, he also fought the BloodClan battle, made the Great Journey, and fought badgers as well. Perhaps he just simply wanted a mate to help him cope with all that. Perhaps that was simply his last touch with sanity…

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32 comments

  • Awesome article! Finally, someone else who thinks that Ashfur belongs in StarClan! I think he belonged in StarClan because he was driven mad with grief. Sort of like Mapleshade. (I ship Mapleshade and Ashfur 😛 ) This article was written very well, great job!

    • Well accept for the fact that Mapleshade’s grief was actually grief and what she went through was pretty bad, whereas Ashfur couldn’t accept the fact that a girl (a crush pretty much) didn’t love him so he went insane and started killing people to make her hurt. If he really loved Squirrelflight, he would have let her go. He could have pulled off a Thrushpelt but nope he decided to give us a little twist in he series. 😛

  • But Ashfur still made his decisions and we never see him showing any kind of remorse. And attempting murder can be just as bad as murder. He completely intended to kill Firestar, Hollyleaf, Jayfeather, and Lionblaze. Ashfur never wanted to make up for what he did and never tried to redeem himself. The other cats mentioned also were either following orders or killed in battle which is quite different than what Ashfur did. He planned on killing cats and selected targets unlike the other cats and Ashfur had no reason to want to kill other cats. Not saying Mudclaw should’ve been in StarClan or the Dark Forest, but these cats are quite different. One planned their moves for almost an entire series and killed their Clan leader while the other was upset and confused and wanted to have a battle. I don’t remember Mudclaw wanting to kill Onestar. On to Skystar, Micah’s death was tragic yes and Skystar should’ve known better but that’s more of a mistake than murder. He wasn’t trying to kill him and Ashfur was. That’s a big difference.

    • Yes, agreed. He totally wanted to murder four, actually five innocent cats. He never apologized, never redeemed himself. Yep, the other cats mentioned weren’t big, selfish crybabys like Ashfur.

      Skystar made a mistake, he made multiple questionable mistakes, but he’s far better than Ashfur who plotted for his entire life the demise of six cats.

  • Excuse me, but how does Ashfur not succeeding make it any better? He intended to murder his Clan leader and burn three cats alive, thank you. :/

    You’re bashing Mudclaw because he broke the warrior code, but Ashfur CERTAINLY did MUCH WORSE. He tried to KILL HIS CLAN LEADER, if that doesn’t put the whole Clan in danger I don’t even know what does. He also tried to burn three cats alive, murdering a Clanmate is against the warrior code and being burned alive is one of the most painful, slow ways to die. There is absolutely no excuse for that. You’re saying that Mudclaw was oh-so-bad for breaking the warrior code, boo hiss, but Ashfur broke more rules and those rules were much more important.

    Blackstar did do some bad things, but he never tried to kill a Clanmate, he tried to make his Clan better. His actions were questionable, but he wasn’t being a selfish crybaby like Ashfur was. And as you said, he redeemed himself in whole, whereas Ashfur didn’t apologize for a single thing he did.

    Skystar. Okay, yes, his actions were rather questionable and power-hungry. He wasn’t a kind, compassionate cat. But he was a good leader, and he did just try to care for his Clan… I don’t like him, but it’s kinda odd to compare him to Ashfur when Skystar wasn’t being selfish, also, Skystar did apologize and redeem himself.

    The cats you mentioned were trying to defend StarClan/their Clan/the code. Ashfur? He was a big, selfish crybaby, and his actions were for his own benefit only. As I mentioned before, you said that Mudclaw’s actions almost ruined his Clan. Well, Ashfur tried murdering his leader. A murdered leader? That would definitely have torn the Clan. Also, I’m not going to deny that his mother died cruelly but that’s is ABSOLUTELY NOT an excuse for him to go murder other cats with equally cruel, disgusting methods. And sure, Tigerstar was at fault but that’s no reason for Ashfur to be put off by Brambleclaw, plenty of other uptight cats accepted him and Ashfur and Brambleclaw were actually friends. Ashfur has no one to blame but himself. Ashfur sure wanted a mate, but Squirrelflight wasn’t his mate. NEVER WAS, I repeat. Ashfur could have moved on from his crush, found a new mate. Saying that he wanted a mate is no excuse, there were plenty of other she-cats. Instead, Ashfur CHOSE to be obsessive, creepy, and murderous. He chose the wrong path. He could have been happy, stayed Squirrelflight’s friend, found another she-cat. But no. He decided to murder everyone because he was a big crybaby.

    And if you’re going to reasonably compare Ashfur’s life to someone other cat’s, compare his with Ferncloud’s. They were siblings and shared the same childhood grief and trauma. Look at how Ferncloud turned out. She had a happy life, a beautiful family, and a great, healthy personality. She went through the same thing as Ashfur. And saying “well, they are different! Plus, Ferncloud never got turned down!” is useless because I’m sure that Ferncloud has received setbacks as well, just less spotlighted setbacks than Ashfur’s. And sure, they’re different cats. But obviously everyone pities Ashfur because of his hard past, so go check out how Ferncloud, who shared his hard past, turned out.

    In addition, Ashfur has no excuse for anything, as Brambleclaw suffered tons more with discrimination and doubt from his Clanmates, even his mentor and leader look upon him warily. Brambleclaw had it harder, he was even almost manipulated by his father, but he turned his back, fought through, and turned out right. Ashfur is the only cat to blame for his actions and the way he turned out.

    The way I see it, Ashfur totally deserves the Dark Forest, especially compared to laughable cats who went to the DF – y’know, Brightflower, Lilywhisker, and Tangleburr, who didn’t deserve it a tiny bit and only went there to fill up the DF.

    Ashfur couldn’t have redeemed himself in StarClan! Any cat who was in StarClan fought for them, and same for the Dark Forest but you know, fought for the Dark Forest. That’s not redemption, that’s accepting/celebrating where you ended up in the afterlife. Ashfur didn’t deserve a second chance, because placing him in StarClan basically wiped him out and turned him into mister smiley while putting him in the DF would have been more reasonable and proper for his actions.

  • Nice article! I absolutely hate Ashfur and no one will ever convince me otherwise, but I get your points. 🙂

  • Interesting article. I’m somewhat torn on whether or not Ashfur belongs in StarClan. I don’t agree with his actions or the reasoning behind them, but if he came to regret them then perhaps he deserves a second chance. (And I don’t remember if he was ever said to have regretted his actions before his death)

  • This is a really well written article, but I have to disagree. Ashfur did things way worse than all your other examples. He tried to murder four cats, and to me, attempting to do it is just as bad as succeeding. Saying he did it out of love doesn’t really make sense. If he truly loved Squirrelflight, he would have been sad when she chose Brambleclaw, but would’ve accepted it and been pleased she was happy, not tried to murder her loved ones. Mudclaw went to StarClan because he didn’t believe Firestar when he said Tallstar made Onewhisker deputy. He thought he was the rightful leader of WindClan, and that Firestar was trying to interfere. So he thought he was following the warrior code when he fought to become leader. Blackstar redeemed himself as you say. Skystar also basically redeemed himself. And he didn’t actively kill his own medicine cat, he just happened to give orders that lead to his death. That’s like blaming every leader ever for killing cats that died in battle for their clan. But yeah, really great article! I just disagree.

  • He wasn’t in love with Squirrelflight, he was obsessed with her! He was her uncle, he tried to kill kits, he DIDN’T save them. Which is against the warrior code. Squirrelflight needed someone about her age, and who she would get along with. Ashfur wouldn’t let her do anything. Squirrelflight would not have had a healthy relationship with Ashfur. They were never really mates, anyway. She was his highschool crush. Ashfur was just a selfish little brat who wanted nothing but what he wanted, and would KILL to get it.

    • I have no problem with the whole incest part, doesn’t rlly matter with cats. And yeah, he was totally unhealthily obsessed and murderous. There’s nothing wrong with the age things. It honestly doesn’t matter. But yeah, she deserved someone who she loved, plus she only thought of Ashfur as a friend.

  • I really don’t have much of an opinion tbh 😛 If it involves putting the blame on Squirrelflight though, I will wholeheartedly defend her and roast Ashfur 😸 Also, if Mapleshade is involved, I will also roast Ashfur because his actions really weren’t very…..idk. But Mapleshade was driven by the hallucinations of her kits telling her to kill cats ( that is grief) whereas Ashfur was mentally aware and knew what he wanted (to cause Squirrelflight pain). But besides that, I don’t care where Ashfur ended up. I’d say that he was heartbroken but not grief stricken because that word has more to it than just “oh my crush doesn’t like me I’m gonna go and kill everyone she loves.”

    • I agree with what you’re saying, but he doesn’t have the right to be heartbroken, if you know what I mean… with his actions, he can’t be put under the broken heart category, like Thrushpelt and Bumblestripe. He’s more of the one ex who tries to stalk you your whole life, except not really an ex. Which makes it worse, because they weren’t ever even together.

  • His victims surviving is absolutely no excuse. Murder is still murder. His intent was still very much there; here are quotes proving he wanted all his victims dead:

    “I wanted him to die, to take your father away so you’d know the real meaning of pain.” – Ashfur about Firestar during fire scene Long Shadows, page 274
    “But your kits- If you them die, you’ll know the pain I felt.”. – Page 275.

    What’s important is that Ashfur did those crimes and did NOTHING to redeem himself, feeling sorry simply isn’t good enough. With Ashfur not even feeling sorry (as even you said, he looked back at one of his innocent victims with ‘burning eyes’) . A cat’s afterlife should be decided on what they did while living, not hoping that they’ll redeem themselves in StarClan one day.

    And by Clan cat/feral cat standards, Ashfur actually led a very good life. He lived in a perfectly stable environment in the form of the ThunderClan camp, and was surrounded by his friends and kin, all who he could’ve turned to for support. And age isn’t too much of an issue for cats, there were plenty of other she-cats he could’ve moved onto. But instead he decides to isolate himself in a pathetic self-pitying mode for years on end, becoming dangerously obsessed with Squirrelflight. All that happened to him was self-inflicted and he deserves neither StarClan nor sympathy.
    And I highly doubt Ashfur cared for and Squirrelflight. He simply saw her as an object for his own happiness, even if it was at the cost of hers. When Squirrelflight was being honest with her feelings, he refused to listen, coming up with random guilt-trips, throwing tantrums, and even snarling at her at point. He even disrespectfully downgraded his mother’s death into nothing but a cruel guilt-trip, claiming that Brambleclaw can’t be trusted as his father was the murderer of his mother. However Ashfur, a hypocrite, never once had a problem with any of Tigerstar’s kin, having been close-friends with Brambleclaw in the past and partners-in-crime with Tigerstar’s other son, Hawkfrost. He was quite clearly making up everything on the spot, as he’s never had any problem with it in the past nor present. And when it was quite clear he wasn’t going to get his way, Ashfur stormed off in a hissy-fit and proceeds to break off all contact with Squirrelflight, even if it was just a simple greeting, in an attempt to make her feel guilty about not wanting to be with him. Ashfur didn’t lose anything; he was still within ThunderClan and surrounded by his kin and close friends, and he and Squirrelflight never had a relationship in the first place, so her ‘rejection’ didn’t change anything. He could still interact with her the same way he did before. He didn’t deserve a mate. Ashfur would’ve done the same to any she-cat who didn’t want to be his mate, it specifically being Squirrelflight is completely and utterly irrelevant in this. This is why I’m glad he never got with any cat. It’s a one-ticket in life once you become Ashfur’s mate: you’re forced to spend the rest of your life with a dangerous and manipulative cat or he tries to murder half of your family and ruin your life. Also, considering the fact that he showed emotionally abusive/manipulative traits while interacting with Squirrelflight, I wouldn’t be surpised if Ashfur was flat out abusive and stalkish of his mate.

    And it’s unlikely Ashfur went insane. He shows more visible control over his actions than most tend to give him credit for, being able to use Birchpaw to lure Firestar into the fox- trap, without them suspecting a thing, even after Hawkfrost was revealed a traitor within Thunderclan. And years later, he was able to preform his duties as senior warrior without any problem: patrolling, hunting, etc, ect, only occasionally slipping and letting his true colours show. Yet even then, no one suspected a thing. Then, during the fire scene, used his quick thinking to use the fire to his advantage, finding the perfect opportunity to trap the three. Finally, he had Jayfeather visiting his dreams and Lionblaze threatening him, yet he still remained in control, not being intimidated and managed to continue with his cruel plans.

  • I actuallly like Skystar, he just was confused and Micah’s death was not his fault. Either way, great article! Good topic and good arguments. I enjoyed reading it! 🙂

  • I think Ashfur should go to the Dark Forest 🤔. Though he didn’t succeed in murdering any cats, he still had intentions to do that. He wanted all cats that Squirrelflight loved die, in order to let her “feel her pain” 🙀. Really? An important and somehow beloved warrior in a clan, which’s famous for having mercy and compassion on cats, wanted to kill his clanmates’ kins, including the clan leader, just because she didn’t become mates with him? I just don’t understand why he’s thinking like this 😾! Had he been loved by others before? Yes, even it’s not in the romantic way. Was he treated equally as others in the clan? Yes, of course! So why he became such a murderous just because a cat didn’t want their relationship be romantic 😰? In the article, you reminded us Ashfur did all those things because he’s heartbroken, but I think that makes him seems even worse to me 😶. It’s his personal problem, and he shouldn’t solve it in such a horrible way which includes killing a quite large amount of cats. If he succeed, the clan would fall apart too as major members (e.g. Firestar) of the clan died. He does deserve the Dark Forest.
    Cool article anyway 😺. Though I don’t think Mudclaw, Blackstar and Skystar should go to the Dark Forest, they still deserve some punishment 😉.

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